Equipment that provides charging power for electric (or hybrid electric) vehicles is typically referred to as Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) or charging stations. In North America, SAE J1772 is the standard for providing charging power to electric (or hybrid electric) vehicles as well as other devices. This standard allows for different charging voltage levels with the highest supported voltage level range being Level 2 voltages, where Level 1 voltage is typically 120V and Level 2 voltages are voltages between 208V to 240V.
Currently, there are two main powering conventions used throughout the world. One convention, which is prevalent in North America, Japan and some parts of South America, uses 208/120V, while the other convention, which is prevalent in Europe, Asia, and other parts of South America, uses 400/230V. Additionally, there are still some areas, such as Brazil, where there is no standard voltage and thus more than one nominal voltage may be encountered.
One of the problems with having multiple power conventions, as well as areas with multiple voltages, is that equipment that is not configured to operate off of the local power grid typically cannot be powered or charged from that grid without risking damage or performance degradation. Additionally, due to differing equipment standards electric (or hybrid-electric) vehicles configured for use in the United States (and similar regions) typically cannot use the same charging equipment as electric (or hybrid-electric) vehicles that are configured for use in Europe (and similar regions). As one example, in the United States the SAE J1772 connector (See FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B) is used for connecting and charging electric (or hybrid-electric) vehicles, whereas in parts of Europe the VDE-AR-E 2623-2-2 based connectors (See FIG. 1C) are used. This can be problematic in situations where electric (or hybrid-electric) vehicles (or other devices) need charging (or power), but are not configured for local power conventions.